England vs Pakistan: Alastair Cook digs in to make ton - but 'Daddy hundred' eludes him

Captain plays with patience before being undone by one that keeps low

Only Alastair Cook could look disappointed on being dismissed for 105, the score he fell on at Old Trafford in the second Test against Pakistan on Friday.

England’s captain had not made a Test century for 19 innings and he and everyone else knew he owed the team one. But the Old Trafford pitch, on which he won the toss, screamed a Daddy hundred, a refrain he has marched to ever since Graham Gooch, his one time mentor, told him they were preferable to mere hundreds in terms of grinding opponents into the turf.

Gooch’s other dictum that would have been echoing around as he dragged himself off was: “If you get in don’t leave it to anyone else.” These are the lofty standards by which great players live and ones which, fortunately, were not compromised as England, bolstered by Joe Root’s unbeaten 141 (a century assuredly heading for paternity status), ended the first day on 314 for 4.

Cook was unlucky to go when he did, the ball from Mohammad Amir, just before tea, keeping low enough for him, a man who’d perhaps miscued two shots all day, to just make contact with the very bottom of his bat. Not enough of a bat, as it turned out, to prevent it striking the stumps.

Alastair Cook in watchful mode against Pakistan (Getty)

The shake of his head that followed should not be mistaken for self-pity. It was a freakish and unlucky dismissal but Cook was hacked off because he had denied himself the slightest extravagance to that point and looked forward to enjoying the fruits of that labour, with perhaps a bit more liberty, after tea.

If you can remove the mental duress, cricket is a game based mostly on geometry. Cook’s lack of a big score for so long is mostly due to bowlers having worked out his Pythagorean weakness, or in cricket terminology, the full-pitched ball in the channel outside off-stump.

A patient man by nature he had found himself being frustrated into playing impatient shots - Master Discipline out-disciplined. But here, and remember the ball was swinging significantly early on, he lined up the ball on off-stump and played only that which pitched on or inside that line. Everything else he left, at least until he’d gauged the pace and bounce of the surface.

The pitch looked a belter and Cook knew he and England would have to make it count in the first innings before any cracks and spike marks worked their mischief. In deference to that he went into further self-denial, stretching his front foot as close to the pitch of the ball as possible while rarely allowing his bat the expansiveness of getting beyond the perpendicular. Remember, Pakistan had done their homework and were dropping nothing short for him to play his favourite cuts and pulls.

Alastair Cook flicks runs off his legs during his hundred against Pakistan (Getty)

He also played the ball late, allowing it to come to him rather than going looking for it or striking it on the up, a temptation that James Vince appears unable to kick. There is a lot of twaddle spoken about players playing their natural game, something they’d be foolish to persist in if it keeps getting them out. Anyway, the very best players adapt and adjust, either themselves to suit the conditions or opposition or, in Viv Richards case, everyone else to suit them.

Root, with whom Cook shared a stand of 185 (their best together), was minded to play in similar vein to his captain though he can work the ball away better off the back foot than Cook, so there was less need for him to be quite so obsessive in smothering the ball.

Cook did not change gear or tack, even when he’d passed 50. Like a pro golfer in the wind, on a links course, he was determined to keep control of his blade. So instead of driving Yasir Shah with a flourish whenever he over-pitched, he punched the ball for four instead. Short backlift, a bit of snap at impact, and an attenuated follow-through. On a fast outfield it was four runs most of the time.

It looked simple, safe, as well as being easy to implement. Yet it is amazing how many top-class batsmen, experienced ones at that, make a mess of good batting conditions. Cook knew it would be criminal to miss out on such a true pitch and conscientious and caring captain that he is, he made sure that he did not.